Lost Maples Hike

11x14 oil on stretched linen
$400 (email me if interested)
As Jim and I were walking the trails at Lost Maples State Park, we came upon this older lady that looked so entranced by this particular Maple tree. She stood in that one spot staring up at the tree. Even after we passed, she was still there. I have really enjoyed painting these landscapes from Lost Maples. The trees are such a beautiful color to paint up against a clear blue sky.

Cows in Fredericksburg

5x7 oil on linen stretched canvas
$50 (email me if interested)sold

I usually work on cotton canvas. I received an assortment of linen canvases for Christmas from my Mom. I really like the smoothness of the surface. The paint just seems to glide right on. Thanks Mom.

Lavender Fields at Becker Vineyards

8x10 oil on cotton canvas panel
$250 (email me if interested)

Texas has some very good wines. Several of the wineries are in Fredericksburg. I am not sure what the connection is with lavender and grapes but it sure is pretty when they are blooming. I mixed every combination of different blues and reds to find the right color for the lavender. I am happy with the color I ended up with.

Maverick Plaza at La Villita

6x8 oil on cotton canvas panel
$100 (email me if interested)

This courtyard is to the right of the gallery, Susan Carlin Art Studio & Gallery, in San Antonio where I have some work hanging. At least it was the view until they removed the bougainvilleas for the winter. I really wanted to capture the sun hitting the water coming from the fountain. It was sparkling. I used a palette knife to add an extra mix of cad yellow light and titanium white at the very end of painting. My photos of my paintings never seem to capture my colors in a true fashion. I don't know what I do wrong as far as photography. I am going to keep working at it because I like to make note cards of my paintings for the gallery.

Frio River in October

8x10 oil on cotton canvas panel
$250 (email me if interested)

I am still painting from photos I took when Jim and I went camping in October. It was such a beautiful place, every where I turned I envisioned another painting. Thank heaven for digital cameras. I can take as many photos as I want without worrying about the cost. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lost Maples

10x12 oil on cotton canvas panel
$180 (email me if interested)SOLD
I am still trying to paint everyday, but with the holidays here and all the extra projects I like to do has kept me pretty busy.
This another painting I have done from Jim and my trip to Garner State Park and Lost Maples State Park.

Artist Christmas card

I decided to put my little angel on some blank cards. If anyone is interested I am selling 5 to a pack with envelopes for $12.50 plus $1.95 shipping and handling. I can mail them the same day. They will be shipped in a padded envelope and themselves in a clear sealed protective bag. I have started making cards using a lot of my paintings so again if anyone is interested I can ship single or any combination. They all come in clear sealed protective bags. Christmas is almost here!

Ortega carved angel

5x7 oil on stretched cotton canvas
$75 (email me if interested)

I had this little carved angel hanging in my studio. I bought it in Santa Fe last time I was there. It is signed on the back Louise Ortega. The sales lady told me the whole family carves, so each one will be a little different. I thought she(the angel) would look sweet on a Christmas card. I used a palette knife to get the texture of the carved wood.

salsa bowl #2

6x6 oil on cotton canvas panel
$75 (email me if interested)

I mentioned in my last post that I had painted these bowls twice. Well here is the second one. This is a odd shaped little bowl with three legs. So in the painting it gives off the illusion that it is painted wrong. Because of that I believe I like the first one better. I have several more of these bowls in different shapes so I think I will paint them again and again. They sure would make a nice series hanging in a kitchen. Does anyone know where I can get 6"x6" frames without spending an arm and a leg?

salsa bowls with cross

6x6 oil on cotton canvas panel
$100 (email me if interested)

I haven't worked on a still life in quite awhile, so I went searching through the house for something interesting to paint. I love the colors in these clay bowls. I wanted to see how it was to paint something that was painted on itself. Does that make any sense? I ended up painting two that weekend.

Frio River at Garner State Park

9x12 oil on cotton canvas panel
$250 (email me if interested)

I am happy to say I am now exhibiting some of my work in Susan Carlin Art Studio and Gallery. The owner is Susan Carlin, a fantastic portrait artist. You can watch her paint on Ustream.tv.com on Tuesday nights at 6:00pm est. She is so upbeat and a pleasure to be around. The other two artists in the gallery are Marilyn Moore and Bonnie Mann. Marilyn paints with watercolors. She does beautiful scenes of the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Bonnie paints in oils. Her still lifes are so eloquent. I feel so special being asked to be a part of their gallery family.

This painting is from another photo I took when Jim and I went camping at Garner State Park. I really tried hard to capture the blue of the water against the fall colors in the trees. That is what attracted me to the scene in the first place.

Alamo

8x10 oil on stretched linen
$250 (email me if interested)Sold
I have never painted on linen before. So the last time I was at Jerry's Artarama I decided to get a prestretched canvas to give it a try. I really liked how the paint flowed on the surface. I had just bought a 6 yard roll of cotton canvas to make my own panels so I guess I will be using cotton for awhile. I do like the tooth that cotton has too. Jim and I went downtown to see the SAVA "Admiration" show when I took this photo of the Alamo. I debated putting the tourists and the fence in the painting. I decided I didn't want to date the painting so much.

my first plein aire!

6x8 oil on cotton canvas panel
$75 (email me if interested)Sold
I have mentioned before how uneasy I felt about putting myself out there to be looked at while I painted. I finally did it with a lot of coxing from my husband. And I loved it! Now I want to do it all the time. I realized how much more you see in colors and values. A photograph will lose some of the values, it seems to flatten. We were at Garner State Park, Texas camping, to see the fall colors. We also went to Lost Maples State Park. There is a large isolated stand of uncommon bigtooth maples. I was only able to paint one plein aire painting but I took a lot of pictures.

They were tourists at the plaza...

16 x 20 oil on stretched cotton canvas
$500 (email me if interested)
I took this photo last year when I was in Santa Fe. I liked the play of shadows all over the ground and pavilion. While I was painting this one I could just imagine who these people were. The only thing that I was concerned about as I painted was the fact that the figures ended up in the center of the painting. I would like to hear others opinion on this. Does it bother you they are in the center and is there too much foreground? Drop me a comment.

San Antonio Visual Artists

Saturday night was the 1st Annual Juried Show "Admiration" presented by San Antonio Visual Artists Group. I was proud to have one of my works accepted. It was my Santa Fe Farmers Market. The opening was held in the courtyard of the Spanish Govenor's Palace. It is so sad I have lived in San Antonio for 13 years and didn't even know this building exisited. I will definitely go back during daytime to visit. I met the first place winner, Susan Carlin. What a wonderful person and artist. You need to definitely check out her blog and website. She has recently opened a gallery/studio at La Villita on the Riverwalk.